FEMINISM

An essay by Sixth Former Alex H

Feminism is characterised by the belief that gender is the most significant division in society, and that women face a disadvantage due to their sex. In feminism, ‘sex’ reflects biological differences between men and women whereas ‘gender’ refers to cultural and social distinctions. A consideration of the biological and cultural dimension casts light upon a major point of departure within feminist ideology. Whereas all feminists seek the emancipation of women from the shackles of a patriarchal society, there is considerable disagreement on the human nature of women and as to the proper means to secure change. Most notably, equality feminists argue for men and women to be treated equally in society. They argue that the differences of sex between men and woman are irrelevant, and that men and women are capable of performing the same roles within society. They provide the idea that human nature should be androgynous and gender roles should be dismissed as social constructs. This is in complete contrast with that of so-called difference feminists or ‘essentialist feminists’, who instead argue that men and women have fundamentally different natures, stemming from biology, and should therefore be treated accordingly by society. Thus we should be ascribed different gender roles as human nature is the root cause of gender distinction. These converse views by feminists on human nature exemplify the high levels of disagreement between them. The extent of disagreement can, however, be questioned, because equality feminists are in the overwhelming majority. In this essay this idea will be explored further and a conclusion will be made as to the extent of whether feminists hold a common view of human nature. A vast majority of feminists can be described as equality feminists: those who acknowledge the obvious natural physical differences between men and women as sexes but argue that these are inconsequential when understanding the innate behavioural qualities of gender characteristics. Gender characteristics are therefore artificially constructed within society by patriarchy. Early feminist thinkers Simone de Beauvoir and Charlotte Perkins Gilman heavily influenced the feminist movement with their ideas on sex and gender. De Beauvoir argued that the sex of

an individual does not determine gender roles, rather patriarchy does. Women are socialised into gender roles such as motherhood. Gilman’s ideas echo this as she argued against gender stereotyping in childhood. These ideas heavily influenced liberal and radical feminism. Liberal feminist Betty Friedan argued that artificially constructed gender roles are so powerful and pervasive that society perceives them as normal and not artificial. Radical feminists such as Kate Millett argued that gender roles were constructed by the family and mirrored by society. Socialist feminism and post-modern feminism expand the debate on sex and gender. Sheila Rowbotham argues that patriarchy and economics are interlinked. In the past, exploitative economic systems, such as feudalism and capitalism, helped to determine subservient gender roles for women. Bell Hooks agrees with Gilman that gender roles are socialised from a very young age. The main disagreement within feminism over sex and gender concerns a minority group of feminists called difference feminists who, unlike equality feminists, argue that biological differences are consequential and do determine gender differences. Equality feminists are very critical of difference feminists as they feel that the latter’s rebuttal of society determining gender roles undermines both feminist history and women’s continuing struggle against patriarchy. Difference feminists maintain that men’s and women’s biological distinctness makes their gender characteristics fundamentally different. It is the biological difference between the sexes that explains patriarchy and women’s lower status in society, as males have sought to dominate females and this has determined society’s gender roles. Moreover, difference feminists like Carol Gilligan have criticised equality feminism for encouraging women to replicate male behaviour, which has had the unintended consequence of alienating women from their own gender distinctiveness. The most extreme aspect of difference feminism is a sub-strand called cultural feminism. Rather than seeking the societal parity that an equality feminist would advocate, cultural feminists challenge the dominance of male values in society and argue that ‘women’s values’ should be promoted as they are superior. Post-modern feminist Kimberlé Crenshaw’s intersectionality challenges the notion that gender is the most important factor in understanding women’s lives. Bell Hooks argues that race was as important as gender in understanding oppression of black women in the USA in the early 1980s. Equality feminists disagree on solutions to gender stereotypes. Liberal feminists like Friedan argue for reform within the public sphere of society. Radical feminists argue that the ‘personal is political’ and that private family life must also be addressed. Unlike liberal feminism, radical feminism argues that patriarchy is too pervasive to reform and has a plethora of diverse revolutionary solutions to transform society, as argued by the likes of Millett and Rowbotham, to name but two of many. Despite all feminists agreeing that men are not superior to women, and all feminists recognising a difference between sex and gender, disagreement between feminists over the nature of men and women is significant. This is because it leads to contrasting goals or ideal societies, and conflicting views on how these should be achieved. Difference feminists criticise equality feminists for encouraging women to replicate men’s nature and deny their own, which only alienates women from themselves. However, difference feminists have been criticised by many feminists groups for suggesting that women have a distinct, passive, nurturing, caring nature. They argue that this takes women back hundreds of years and undermines the progress the women’s movement has made in improving equality between men and women. Equality feminists argue that acknowledgement of difference automatically leads to inequality and if there is inequality it is inevitable that men

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Friedan argued that equality, and male superiority must artificially constructed be destroyed. gender roles are so In conclusion, it is highly evident powerful and pervasive that that feminists may hold different views of human nature, as difference society perceives them as feminists argue that biological normal and not artificial.’ sexual differences influence important and innate gender characteristics, which conflicts with equality feminism which argues that gender characteristics in the main are constructed by a patriarchal society. This is a schism in feminist thought that cannot be reconciled. However, it must be remembered that the vast majority of the four waves of feminism are equality feminists, who broadly agree that patriarchal society and not sexual biology constructs gender characteristics. Nevertheless, there is debate among equality feminists on exactly how gender characteristics are constructed, while postmodern feminist intersectionality theory questions the prominence of patriarchy in understanding the gender roles of women. Overall, it is evident that whilst the majority of feminists are equality feminists and they may hold the overarching similar view of human nature, feminist thought can not be defined by a singular belief. Therefore it can be concluded that the extent of a shared belief is apparent, despite a vocal and passionate minority of difference, essentialist, cultural and postmodern feminists.